Youth artwork celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month
New Hampshire youth speak out about mental health through art at the Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest Celebration, happening Thursday, May 20, at the Tupelo Drive-In in Derry and virtually via livestream.
Now in its third year, the contest invites middle school and high school students in the state to submit an original work of art — be it a two- or three-dimensional visual art piece, short film, essay, poem or song — that expresses their experience with or observations of mental health. The art work is then featured at a celebratory event in May to honor Mental Health Awareness Month and to highlight the need for improved children’s mental health care in New Hampshire.
“I think being able to see what our kids are experiencing in this very visual way can really help us get a better understanding of what they’re going through,” said Michele Watson, family network coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire Chapter, which co-sponsors the event with the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate and other mental health- and youth-focused organizations throughout the state.
Upon arrival attendees will be guided to distanced parking spaces. For the first hour of the event, from 4 to 5 p.m., they will be able to stroll the parking lot, masked, and visit information booths for around a dozen local organizations involved with youth mental health.
“Part of bringing [mental health] awareness is letting people know where they can go for resources,” Watson said. “We want to make sure that, if they ever need help, or if they have a family member or good friend who might need help, they know where to go.”
Also during that time, all 43 art pieces that were submitted will be displayed on a large screen near the stage. They consist mostly of visual art pieces, Watson said, including drawings, paintings and computer-generated images, with a few short films and poems in the mix.
“The art work just completely impresses us,” she said, “and not just because of the messages that they share but also because of the quality of the art work. A lot of [the artists] are extremely talented.”
Watson said that she and the contest judges noticed “a different tone” in this year’s pieces, with more artists opening up about their personal struggles with mental health.
“In the past a lot of the submissions were focused on awareness,” she said, “but now we’re seeing the [artists] who are experiencing [mental health issues] themselves really expose themselves by sharing their own stories and expressing how they’re feeling.”
The awards ceremony and a series of presentations by guest speakers, which attendees can watch from inside their cars or from their own lawn chairs situated just outside their cars, will begin at 5 p.m. Ten finalists chosen by the judges will be named and will each receive a framed certificate and a $250 cash prize. The audience, including those watching the livestream from home, will then have a chance to vote for their favorite of the 10 finalists to win a People’s Choice Award.
Guest speakers will include mental health awareness advocate and former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick; 10-year-old New Hampshire Kid Governor Charlie Olsen, whose platform is childhood depression; and Dr. Cassie Yackley, a specialist in trauma-informed mental health care, discussing the importance of art in mental health.
The event is often “eye-opening” for the audience, Watson said, as it gives youth an outlet to publicly express thoughts and feelings that they may not have wanted or been able to articulate before.
“Our youth really have a lot to say, and [art] helps them deliver it in a different way,” she said. “Now we just need to listen to them.”
Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest Celebration Where: Tupelo Drive-In, 10 A St., Derry, and virtually via livestream When: Thursday, May 20, 4 to 6:30 p.m. More info/register: Visit sites.google.com/view/magnify-voices and facebook.com/magnifyvoicesexpressivearts
Featured photo: Youth art from a previous Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest. Courtesy photo.
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
The Nashua International Sculpture Symposium returns May 20. Courtesy photo.
• The sculptors are coming: The 14th annual Nashua International Sculpture Symposium will commence on Thursday, May 20, with a private opening reception, which will be recorded for the public to watch online. During the symposium, three renowned sculptors will spend three weeks in Nashua creating three outdoor sculptures for permanent installation in the city. This year’s sculptors, all coming from the U.S., are Gavin Kenyon from New York, Sam Finkelstein from Maine, and Nora Valdez, from Boston, Mass., originally from Argentina. The sculptors will work outside The Picker Artists studios (3 Pine St., Nashua) Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4. They will relocate to the sculpture installation site on Saturday, June 5, where they will continue their work until the closing ceremony on Saturday, June 12.During those times, the public will be able to watch the sculptors work and interact with them during their breaks (masks and social distancing required). The closing ceremony, at which the finished sculptures will be revealed, will take place at the installation site and will also be available to watch online. Visit nashuasculpturesymposium.org.
• NH Jewish Film Festival returns: The New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival returns virtually Wednesday, May 19, through Thursday, June 10, with 11 independent foreign films as well as a series of food-themed shorts. The feature films — all New Hampshire premieres — come from eight countries: the United States, Israel, Ethiopia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Switzerland. They will be released one at a time on different days, each with a 72-hour watch window, starting with When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, a period drama from Germany and Switzerland, on May 19. “Our goal is to bring thought-provoking and enlightening documentaries, fiction films and shorts that you can’t find anywhere else,” festival co-chair Ross Fishbein said in a press release. “We’re delighted to bring some of the world’s best indie films straight to your living room.” Additionally, there will be Q&A events with the filmmakers for five of the films, to be held over Zoom. Tickets are per household and cost $12 per film, $43 for a four-pack film pass and $110 for an all-access pass to all 11 films. The shorts series, which includes five short films, will be free and available to watch at any point during the festival. Visit nhjewishfilmfestival.com.
• A call for Covid poetry: New Hampshire residents are invited to submit original poems for review and possible publication in COVID Spring Vol. II,an anthology of poetry about the pandemic experience in New Hampshire, to be edited by New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary and published by Hobblebush Books this summer. The anthology is a follow-up to COVID Spring: Granite State Pandemic Poems, published in September 2020, which features original poems submitted by more than 50 New Hampshire writers, providing “a thirty-day snapshot of what life was like in the Granite State in April of 2020” through topics such as Covid-related “job loss, loneliness and love, masks, social distancing, surreal visitors, uncertainty, graduations deferred, grief, neighborly and less-than-neighborly acts, observing the beginning of the pandemic and making projections about the future, recalibrating or confirming what it means to be human, to be a resident of this region,” Peary said in the anthology’s introduction. Youth age 18 and under may also submit original poems to be considered for the anthology’s new youth section. Submit a poem or poems (up to three) by Sunday, May 23, through the online submission form at hobblebush.com/anthology-submissions. Poets will be notified of the editor’s decision by June 15.
• Joining together for Portsmouth arts: The All Together Now benefit concert series kicks off Friday, May 14, with singer-songwriter Zachary Williams performing live at The Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth) at 5:30 and 8 p.m. The series is a collaboration between The Music Hall and its fellow Portsmouth arts venues Prescott Park Arts Festival and 3S Artspace to raise funds for the latter two to help them recuperate from the pandemic. The series continues with Rachael & Vilray on Saturday, May 22 (sold out), and Son Little on Friday, June 11, at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25, $40, and $60. Visit themusichall.org.
Art
Exhibits
• DUO ARTIST EXHIBIT Features oils by Jim Ryan and watercolors by Lorraine Makhoul. On view during May. Seacoast Artist Association, 130 Water St., Exeter. Call 778-8856 or visit seacoastartist.org.
• 35TH ANNUAL OMER T. LASSONDE JURIED EXHIBITION The New Hampshire Art Association presents a group art show featuring works in a variety of media by NHAA members and non-members. NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth). On view now through May 30. Call 431-4230 and visit nhartassociation.org.
• “TRANSFORMATIONS: NATURE AND BEYOND” The New Hampshire Art Association presents works by digital artist William Townsend. Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Gallery, 49 S. Main St., Concord. On display now through June 17. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.
• “THE BODY IN ART: FROM THE SPIRITUAL TO THE SENSUAL” Exhibit provides a look at how artists through the ages have used the human body as a means of creative expression. On view now through Sept. 1. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
• “TOMIE DEPAOLA AT THE CURRIER” Exhibition celebrates the illustrator’s life and legacy through a collection of his original drawings. On view now. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
• “RETABLOS RECONSIDERED” Exhibit features works by 12 artists inspired by retablos, the honorific art form of devotional paintings that relate to miraculous events. Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen). On view now through June 6. Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Call 975-0015 or visit twiggsgallery.wordpress.com.
• “GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION THROUGH CUT AND PASTE” City Arts Nashua and The Nashua Telegraph present an exhibition featuring the works of Meri Goyette, including statement collages and collectible greetings cards that she crafted from paper, fabric and glue during the pandemic. On display in the windows and lobby of the Telegraph offices (110 Main St., Suite 1, Nashua). Now through June 11. Visit cityartsnashua.org.
• “CRITICAL CARTOGRAPHY” Exhibit features immersive large-scale drawings by Larissa Fassler that reflect the Berlin-based artist’s observations of downtown Manchester while she was an artist-in-residence at the Currier Museum in 2019. On view now through fall. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
• GALLERY ART A new collection of art by more than 20 area artists on display now in-person and online. Creative Ventures Gallery (411 Nashua St., Milford). Call 672-2500 or visit creativeventuresfineart.com.
Events
• 14TH ANNUAL NASHUA INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE SYMPOSIUM Three renowned sculptors will spend three weeks in Nashua creating three outdoor sculptures for permanent installation in the city. The public will be able to watch the sculptors work and interact with them during their breaks (masks and social distancing required). Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fri., May 24 through Fri., June 4, outside The Picker Artists studios (3 Pine St., Nashua), and Sat., June 5 through Sat., June 12, at installation site. A private opening reception will be held on Thursday, May 20, and closing ceremony and sculpture reveal on Saturday, June 12, both of which will be recorded for the public to watch online. Visit nashuasculpturesymposium.org.
Theater
Shows
• 42ND STREET Recorded live in London. Virtual screening presented by Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. Now through May 19. $15 per ticket. Call 225-1111 or visit ccanh.com.
• FUN HOME The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents. 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. Now through May 28. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.
• GODSPELL The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents. Virtual and in person at 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. Now through May 30. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.
• DISCOVERING MAGIC WITH ANDREW PINARD The Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord). Wed., May 19 and June 16, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $22 for adults, $19 for members, seniors and students, and $16 for senior members. Call 715-2315 or visit hatboxnh.com.
• A WIDER CIRCLE The New Hampshire Theatre Project’s Elephant-in-the-Room Series, in partnership with the Seacoast Mental Health Center, presents a reading of the play, written by local playwright and social studies teacher Mary Ellen Hedrick. Virtual, via Zoom. Thurs., May 20, 7 to 9 p.m. Free. Registration is required. Visit nhtheatreproject.org.
• QUEEN CITY IMPROV The Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord). Fri., May 21 and June 4, and Thurs., June 17, 7:30 p.m. Tickets $22 for adults, $19 for members, seniors and students, and $16 for senior members. Call 715-2315 or visit hatboxnh.com.
Get all of the flower-filled beauty with none of the work at public gardens
Plenty of people like working in the garden, planting and pruning and watching things grow. But there’s something to be said about relaxing in a luxurious garden where you don’t have to lift a finger to reap its rewards. Public gardens are the perfect opportunity to enjoy stunning displays of nature, from flowers that are bursting with color to vibrant trees, grasses and water features. So take a break from weeding — or from endlessly watching HGTV in the hopes that you’ll be inspired to do some weeding — and check out some of these public gardens.
Fuller Gardens
10 Willow Ave., North Hampton964-5414,fullergardens.org
Colorful history: Fuller Gardens is a public, nonprofit botanical garden that dates back to 1927, when Massachusetts Gov. Alvan Fuller commissioned a landscape architect for his summer estate, known as Runnymede-by-the-Sea. In the ’30s, Fuller — also a successful businessman who started the first auto dealership in Boston — hired another firm to improve those gardens and to create a rose garden to honor his wife, Viola. Since then, the garden has expanded even more, with additions like a Japanese garden and a dahlia display garden.
The brains behind the beauty: Jamie Colen has been the garden director at Fuller since 1999, and there’s a staff of seven that works at the gardens seven days a week.
Standout features: Three acres of gardens featuring annuals and perennials, water features, a koi pond, ornamental statuary and more. Fuller is best known for its roses, Colen said, with about 1,700 rose bushes and approximately 125 varieties.
Growing season: At Fuller Gardens, getting the space ready for its busiest time of year starts in February and March, with work in the greenhouse. There are thousands of pots that have to be replanted, and then the crew gets outside to start the maintenance, like making sure the underground irrigation system is working and undoing all of the winterization that they did back in December, like tying the rose bushes and preserving the statuary and other parts of the garden’s hardscape.
“We basically take care of an outdoor museum,” Colen said.
And yes, there’s raking and pruning and weeding, too. What you won’t see, though, is the crew using bark mulch, a staple gardening supply for many home gardeners.
“Bark mulch is really acidic and you’re putting it on plants that like a neutral pH,” Colen said.
Fuller Gardens is also “virtually pesticide-free,” using potassium bicarbonate to keep the roses pest-free. Colen said they make a point of working with nature, not against it.
“We mow three times a week, no chemicals — there’s no magic here,” he said. “We have some clover. It looks great [and] takes a lot of abuse.”
Your garden experience: Because they do succession planting, there’s never a bad time to see the gardens, Colen said.
“It’s a beautiful design because there’s something in bloom all the time,” he said.
The roses start blooming at the end of June and are often still blooming until November, growing as high as 12 feet tall, Colen said.
“The first bloom is probably the biggest, but it’s not the most spectacular,” he said.
Whenever you choose to go, you can walk through the gardens at your leisure.
The details: Fuller Gardens opened for the season on May 10 and will remain open through mid-October, seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The cost of admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students with an ID, $4 for kids under 12 and no charge for infants who are carried.
Photos courtesy of Fuller Gardens.
The Fells
456 Route 103A, Newbury763-4789, thefells.org
Colorful history: The Fells, which encompasses 83 acres of woodlands and grounds and nearly half a mile of undeveloped Lake Sunapee shoreline, is located in Newbury and is the former summer home of American writer and diplomat John M. Hay (1838-1905), who began acquiring abandoned sheep farms in the late 1800s and ultimately owned nearly 1,000 acres of land. His son Clarence inherited the property when John Hay died in 1905, and he and his wife Alice transformed the rock pasture into extensive formal and informal gardens. In 1960 the Hays deeded 675 acres to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests to protect it from development, and the remainder was deeded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the ’70s.
The brains behind the beauty: HorticulturistNick Scheu has been the landscape director at The Fells for three seasons and has an assistant and typically two interns in the landscape department.
Standout features: There are eight major gardens at The Fells, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Scheu said The Fells is well known for its rhododendrons, and he particularly likes the heath and the heather, and the “lovely” perennial border that dates back to 1909. There’s also a poetry walk and an ecology trail. On the property this year will be the Art in Nature 2021 Sculpture Exhibit, with pieces that areintegrated into the surrounding landscape and are based on the theme “Stillness & Motion.”
Growing season: Getting the property ready for the spring season starts in mid-March, Scheu said, when they start uncovering winterized plants and pruning the fruit trees and shrubs. Scheu runs pruning workshops throughout the spring, specific to blueberries, apple trees, spring bloomers and more, plus potting workshops that have participants potting seed and planting plugs for both The Fells and their own home gardens.
Your garden experience: Though the landscape will evolve throughout the spring and summer, “We hope we have things in flower pretty much from May to September or November,” Scheu said. Different plants do shine at different times, though, he said, noting that the rhododendron and azaleas are especially nice from mid-May to mid- to late July, while the asters in the fall are on full display and attract hundreds of butterflies.
“Early summer gardens are always a joy to see,” Scheu said. “[They have] really great colors and new growth appearing from Memorial Day to the end of June.”
The Fells offers guided garden tours each day that the Main House is open (see details below), and there’s a free guided hike on the first Thursday of every month. At any time, you can “casually walk the grounds and enjoy whatever is flowering,” Scheu said.
He said there’s often wildlife to see too — he had just left a fox den full of babies, and it’s not unusual to have deer, bear and fisher cats roaming the property.
Scheu suggests that prior to visiting The Fells guests should look at the extensive website, which includes maps of the property, a calendar of events and other useful information that can enhance the experience.
The details: The gardens and trails at The Fells are open daily year-round, and visitors may hike the trails and visit the gardens from dawn until dusk. The Fells’ Main House opens for the season on Saturday, May 29, and will be open on weekends until the summer season begins on June 16, at which point it will be open Wednesdays through Sundays until Sept. 6, when it reverts back to weekends and Monday holidays only, through Columbus Day. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. When the Main House is open, the cost of admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $4 for kids 6 to 17, free for kids 5 and under, and $25 for families of two adults and two or more children ages 6 or above. When the Main House is closed, admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $3 for children and $15 for families of two adults and two or more children ages 6 or above. Winter admission, December through March, is $5 per household, payable at the self-serve Welcome Kiosk. Admission is always free for active military members and veterans, and their immediate family.
Forty-minute guided tours of the gardens, included in the cost of admission, are offered Wednesday through Sunday, Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend. Tours begin in Rose Garden at 11 a.m.
Scheu will host the next potting workshop on Saturday, May 22, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The $5 per person fee includes a sample of plant specimens to take home. Reservations are required; call 763-4789, ext. 3. Check the website’s list of events for all kinds of activities scheduled throughout the remainder of the year.
Rose terrace at The Fells. Photo courtesy of thefells.org.
Bedrock Gardens
45 High Road, Lee828-8300, bedrockgardens.org
Colorful history: The original farmhouse at Bedrock Gardens dates back to the 18th century, and the property was a dairy farm from 1845 to 1957. It was sold to the present owner in 1980 on a handshake, the 37 acres having been abandoned for about 40 years. It was first cleared of poison ivy and puckerbrush, and the landscaping project started around 1987, adding access to roads along with garden beds and a wildlife pond. About two-thirds of the property is now gardens.
The brains behind the beauty: Led by Executive DirectorJohn Forti, Bedrock Gardens also has a group of volunteers and a small ground crew. The founders are still very involved: “The two of them are like having a staff of a dozen,” Forti said.
Standout features: One main focus at Bedrock Gardens is showcasing rare and unusual native plants. “Everything looks vaguely familiar, but [for example], you’ve never seen a maple quite like that,” Forti said. There’s the ornamental Grass Acre — “the space was designed to look like an impressionist painting,” Forti said. “It evolves through the whole season.” There’s also a spiral garden, a rock garden, a Japanese Tea House and garden, and a serpentine waterway that Forti particularly likes, with its lotus and water lilies and the sense of motion that it adds to the landscape.
Growing season: “We are a garden that looks at sustainability,” Forti said. “We’re not racing to put out tens of thousands of annuals in the spring. … We really rely on perennials.
Of course there are a few garden cleanup days, plus planting the annuals and improving soil quality, he said, but the garden is laid out on a sort of grid system so that everything is easy to get to and maintain.
Your garden experience: “Unlike a lot of other public gardens, it’s not a single design space — it’s a landscape journey,” Forti said. “Over the course of 37 acres it keeps you moving through room after room, and each space has its own feeling and emotion.”
Forti said there are a number of ways to enjoy the garden, whether you want to take a walk along the mile-plus of walking trails, get a guided tour to learn about the gardens, or just relax. Forti said that one volunteer has said that when she walks through the gardens her blood pressure goes down about 20 points.
“Some people are just going there to quiet their minds … [and] enjoy nature,” he said. “They love to relax into the landscape. … You might be relaxing and reflecting by a pond and then move on … to a different garden.”
He said you can spend a couple hours there or a whole day — and there’s no “best” time of the year to visit.
“It’s so different by the season, and that’s … part of its design,” he said.
The details: Bedrock Gardens opened for the season on May 12 and is open Tuesday through Friday, and the first and third weekends of the month, through Oct. 11. The hours each day are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There’s a suggested donation of $10 per adult; children 12 and under get in free. Daily overview garden tours are offered Tuesday through Friday at 10:15 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 10:15 a.m. and 1 p.m., when open. The guided tours are free with admission. You can also take a self-guided tour and spend as much time as you want on the property; you will be given a map with a suggested route.
Rose terrace at The Fells. Photo courtesy of thefells.org.
Kirkwood Gardens
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, 23 Science Center Road, Holderness, 968-7194, nhnature.org
Colorful history: Kirkwood Gardens is about an acre in size and was created on the grounds of the historic Holderness Inn, in the space of a former parking lot. In trying to figure out what should take the place of the parking lot, a plan put together by internationally known landscape designer — and six-year Science Center trustee — “Sunny” Grace Kirkwood won out. It used plants that are adapted to grow well in New Hampshire and that are attractive to birds, bees and other pollinators, according to resident garden expert Brenda Erler. Erler said Kirkwood was very elderly when she was designing the garden. “Her nurse would actually bring her to the gardens, complete with her oxygen tank, and she would just sit for hours and watch the shadows to see how [the sun would hit the plants],” Erler said. The entire community pitched in to make the design happen, from an anonymous gift to amend the soil to area garden centers and local residents donating plants, garden features and labor. Kirkwood only survived long enough to see the upper garden planted, Erler said; that was completed in August 1996, and Kirkwood died in September. “It was the last garden that she ever donated in the United States,” Erler said.
The brains behind the beauty: According to Marketing Manager Amanda Gillen, Brenda Erler is the “expert on all things Kirkwood Gardens.” Erler has been at the Science Center since before the gardens were designed, and she leads a group of volunteers in maintaining the gardens.
Standout features: A 25- by 60-foot bluestone patio offers scenic views and a place to sit in the summer shade. The upper garden has a variety of ferns, hostas, azaleas, rhododendrons and other shade-loving plants, while the lower garden features sun-loving shrubs, trees and perennials, a sundial and a millstone fountain that attracts birds and butterflies.
Growing season: Erler said that each season she and a group of volunteers do the pruning and cleanup of winter debris as well as improvements and enhancements. “We keep kind of adding things to the fringes and [consider the] things we want to improve the looks of, [like] the exits, the entrances.” She said at the start of the season the volunteers do a walkaround to see how the plants are doing and whether any need to be replaced or moved, and they figure out which annuals to plant.
Your garden experience: “People will see plants that will work well in their yard,” Erler said, noting that the plants have been labeled and a kiosk has information for every plant, including their growing conditions, to help anyone who might want to bring something home for their own garden. “You can spend time learning about the plants or just sitting on one of the benches and enjoying it,” Erler said. “People use the garden in all different ways.” There’s also a list of birds and butterflies to help people ID them.
Erler said that while the bulbs are “going like mad right now,” the gardens always have something to offer.
“Sunny was just a master at designing things, and there’s always something in bloom,” she said. “It changes radically through the seasons.”
One of Erler’s favorites is Joe Pye weed, a native plant that grows in wetlands.
“Most of the year people just ignore it, but when it goes into bloom the butterflies absolutely lose their minds over it,” she said. “There are so many monarchs hanging on it.”
Details: Kirkwood Gardens is open to the public daily, and there is no cost to get in and no need for reservations. However, if you want to spend a day at the Squam Lakes Science Center, admission is $18 for adults and seniors and $13 for ages 3 to 15, and it includes the live animal exhibit trail and all hiking trails. Trail passes must be pre-purchased online before arriving at the Science Center. The live animal exhibit trail and hiking trails are open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last trail admission is 3:30 p.m.).
More public gardens Here are a few other public gardens to check out. If you know of any more beautiful public spaces like these, let us know at news@hippopress.com.
Maple Hill Gardens Beaver Brook Association, 117 Ridge Road, 465-7787, beaverbrook.org The 13 theme gardens, wildflower trail and natural play area are open to the public daily. The gardens are maintained by volunteers, and garden tours and presentations are available.
Prescott Park Marcy Street, Portsmouth, 610-7208, cityofportsmouth.com/prescottpark The gardens at Prescott Park are free and open to the public. In 1975, 40 formal garden beds were created on the South Lawn of Prescott Park, designed to study which varieties of ornamental plants performed best in the seacoast environment. Now, the gardens continue to be planted and maintained by the city’s Parks & Greenery department, which IDs the plants and flowers for visitors.
Tarbin Gardens 321 Salisbury Road, Franklin, 934-3518, tarbingardens.com Opening in June, Tarbin Gardens is a hand-built English landscape garden covering five acres, with all kinds of plants, plus greenhouses, ponds and wildlife. The cost of admission (cash only) is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and $30 for families of two parents and two or more children. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Featured photo: Pollinator on Cosmos. Photo courtesy of Squam Lakes Natural Science Center.
Regal Hooksett 8, the movie theater off Interstate 93 Exit 10 in Hooksett, will reopen Friday, May 21, according to a reply from Regal Cinema’s customer relations team. The Regal Concord is also set to open May 21. Last weekend was opening weekend for Regal Newington and O’neil Cinemas in Epping; Chunky’s in Manchester, Nashua and Pelham have remained open (AMC theaters are also open, though with reduced numbers of screenings). By the time A Quiet Place Part II is released on Friday, May 28 (Memorial Day weekend), movie-goers will (hopefully) have several local screens to choose from if they choose to check out a movie. (Other area theaters in operation include Smitty’s Cinema in Tilton and the Cinemark in Salem.)
Score: +1
Comment: QOL is ready for some popcorn.
Putting out fires
A New Hampshire fire captain has won a national award for his efforts in fire prevention. One of only five Smokey Bear Award winners nationwide, Capt. Douglas Miner of the New Hampshire Forest Protection Bureau recently received the honor from the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service for “outstanding service with significant and sustained program impact in wildfire prevention,” according to a press release. In 2019, during Smokey Bear’s year-long 75th birthday celebration, Miner coordinated dozens of events in New Hampshire that featured Smokey Bear, with an estimated 12,000 people attending 61 events, the release said.
Score: +1
Comment: In his nomination of Miner, Brad Simpkins of the U.S. Forest Service (and former New Hampshire State Forester and director of the state’s Division of Forests and Lands) wrote that “Doug’s efforts, while above and beyond his normally busy ranger duties, are equal to or rival those that could be accomplished with a full-time prevention coordinator.”
Big summer expected for the Granite State
New Hampshire could have one of its busiest summer seasons in recent years, thanks to an increasing demand for travel, high vaccination rates and a wealth of outdoor recreation. According to a press release, the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development is projecting 3.45 million visitors to the Granite State this summer, with spending reaching $1.8 billion — nearly as much as 2019’s pre-pandemic levels. To help with these efforts, the department is launching a special summer advertising campaign that highlights New Hampshire’s recreational opportunities and will target states on the East Coast, including New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio.
Score: +1
Comment: Despite the pandemic, visitation to New Hampshire was down only 14.9 percent last summer, according to the release.
A concerning uptick
As a lifelong New Hampshire resident, QOL is no stranger to ticks, but this season so far seems to be worse than usual. The sidelines of a high school baseball field have been especially ripe with ticks; not a single game has gone by without multiple spectators having to pick ticks off themselves, their bags or chairs and their dogs — the record that QOL has heard so far was one parent who found five ticks during one game. According to a publication from the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, these are likely American dog ticks, the most frequently encountered tick in New Hampshire, or the smaller, more rounded blacklegged tick, the second most common species in the state.
Score: -2
Comment:It’s hard to enjoy the great outdoors when you’re worried about ticks crawling all over you.
QOL score: 70
Net change: +1
QOL this week: 71
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.
It’s weird that in the worst Patriots season in two decades, this football season/off-season has seemed to last longer than any of the previous 20. It’s mid-May and I’m still writing about legitimate, current Patriots news. Another example of how public interest for the NFL off season has overrun baseball and its once beguiling hot stove league. Also due I guess to my meager pre-season expectations for the surprising 2021 Red Sox, the sad, embarrassing disintegration of the Celtics’ once promising future and not even knowing if the Bruins are still playing because my streaming service has kicked NESN off its platform.
So football reigns. At least for one final week until we finally get to the Red Sox next week. That is, unless Coach B surprises everyone by pulling off the until now non-rumored Mac Jones for Tom Brady swap. Until that happens, though, here are our final thoughts on the draft and news around it until September.
Regardless of what I hear about draft and Patriots “steals” like Christian Barmore (a first-round talent), Ronnie Perkins (could be a great edge rusher) (which is what they said about Chase Winovich) orall-name teamer Rhamondre Stevenson (the next LeGarrette Blount),I don’t believe anything till I see guys play in real games.
Incidentally, when I hear the draft’s top-rated D-lineman (Barmore) fell to the Pats in the second round over maturity issues, I think Dominique Easley or Josh Gordon at best and Aaron Hernandez at worst. Not making any statement about a specific kid, just saying when I hear “slide” coupled with “maturity issues” that’s what pops into my head.
Football 101: Only five players in NFL history have been named first team All Pro in their first three years in the league. One is currently active. Name them.
When the latest Aaron Rodgers snit/pout comes to light, what word comes to mind first — self-centered, diva or crybaby?
But if you were SF would you have done the pre-draft rumored Rodgers-to-SF deal for the third overall pick and Jimmy G? Yes for me.
Albert Einstein Award: In my informal tracking of the most well-known mockers, only ESPN’s Todd McShay hit the Patriots’ draft day trifecta of being right that the 49er’s would take Trey Lance and not Jones at third overall, the Pats would stay home, not trade up, to get Jones at 15 and Jimmy G would not be traded.
Cosmo Kramer Hipster Doofus Award: Goes to “hey look at me” NBC contrarian Chris Simms, who always makes outlandish picks to look like the smartest, hippest dude in the room if they come out right. Then he’ll mention the one that only he got right, and neglect to mention the 30 others he got wrong. This year it was saying QB-needy New England would shock all by trading up to 11 for Alabama speedster Jaylen Waddle over taking a QB. Nope — they got Jones at 15, while Waddle went sixth to Miami and a QB, Justin Fields, did go at 11 to Chicago. Simms had Fields sliding to 32. Nice call, dude.
A Little History: With Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Lance going 1-2-3 it was the third time quarterbacks were taken with the first three picks, and the history is not great. The last time was 1999 when top pick Tim Couch and third pick Akili Smith both busted and, while second pick Donovan McNabb had a long career, I never warmed to him. The other was 1971 with Jim Plunkett (Stanford), dad of Peyton and Eli, Archie Manning (Mississippi) and Dan Pastorini (Santa Clara). All had long careers, but none are Hall of Famers and only Plunkett won Super Bowls (1980 and 1983). But only after he was beaten to a pulp after being taken first overall by the moribund Patriots and traded for the boatload of draft picks that laid the foundation for the good Chuck Fairbanks teams in the mid-1970’s.
Since history suggests at least two taken in Round 1 will bust, my picks are Fields and Wilson. Have nothing to back that up beyond history and my gut feeling. Gut— haven’t trusted an Ohio State QB since the Baltimore Colts gambled on Art Schlichter in 1982, with the most recent examples being Dwayne Haskins and Troy Smith. History — if anyone can screw it up it’s the Jets. I’ve been hearing since Al Woodall replaced Joe Namath how good the next QB will be. Al wasn’t, and not just because he was a dead ringer for Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies.
I’ve got nothing against the likable Wilson. But from a small town in Utah to NYC seems like a bad combo. The ravenous NYC media is already making him out to be the second coming of Gandhi after also doing the same to Sam Darnold and Mark “Sanchize.” But in being better-looking than Brady and Jimmy G combined he’ll make a fortune in endorsements playing there.
By the way, after seeing the damage Waddle’s electrifying speed did in those ESPN video clips, I’d say the last piece Coach B needs is a No. 1/speed receiver. So I’m all in for a post-June 1 trade with cap-strapped Atlanta for Julio Jones.
I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that when/if Jones is ready, we could see a two-headed QB monster at some point, with Jones as the starter and Cam having a third and short/ goal line runner and change-of-pace passer wildcat QB role.
Football 110 Answer: The five who were All-Pros in their first three NFL seasons are Earl Campbell, Lawrence Taylor, 1990s Eagles tight end Keith Jackson, Barry Sanders, and the current one, Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson.
Finally, for the record, I’m not holding my breath on that rumored Mac-for-Tom swap started here today. But don’t forget to pass it on. And what’s the bet that if it happens the hipster dude Simms says he had it first?
A student team from University of New Hampshire Manchester is one of five student teams selected by NASA to send a project to the International Space Station in 2022. The NoMADS project — Novel Methods of Antibiotic Discovery in Space — will examine the mutation of soil bacteria in space and its potential for developing new antibiotics. Sydney Rollins ’20, ’22G and Raymond Miller ’21 co-lead the team, advised by Biology faculty member Suzanne Cooke.
What are your roles on the team?
Raymond: I head the science side of the project, so I’m in charge of developing the science background knowledge and leading the lab technicians and the overall laboratory execution of the process.
Sydney: I head the outreach part of it. As part of NASA’s requirements [for the program], we need to do a lot of outreach with our community and [include] involvement from schools, from kindergarten through high school.
How did you get involved in NoMADS?
S: We were both taking a class called “Small Microbial World” with Dr. Sue Cooke … and the aim of that class is to discover novel antibiotics from soil bacteria. … We both loved the class and asked Dr. Cooke if we could do research with her, and she agreed. Then, she saw this [NASA] opportunity in a science newsletter and thought it would be good experience for us to write a project proposal. We ended up getting accepted.
What kind of data are you looking to get from this experiment?
R: We want to look at how bacteria mutate in space. …We’ll be sending a soil sample and using a device called an AI chip to collect bacteria. … We’re hoping that, based on the microgravity effects and electromagnetic radiation effects [in space], we’ll be able to collect bacteria that can’t normally be collected in a laboratory [on Earth].
What is the ultimate goal?
S: Space travel is really growing right now, especially with commercial and civilian experiences and opportunities for space travel. … Inevitably, people going to space are going to get infections, and we need to know if we can treat them and how to treat them, because our current antibiotics don’t work very well in space. …There has been some research coming out recently about bacteria mutating at a different rate in space than on Earth, so we want to see if we can produce antibiotics through those mutations. … We could possibly find new antibiotic compounds that affect bacteria on Earth as well.
What are you working on right now, specifically?
R: We’re still in the beginning stages. Our launch window is tentatively [scheduled for] the spring of 2022, so we have some time. Right now we’re concentrating on background knowledge, figuring out what biological components we’re actually going to send up to space, and going through troubleshooting to make sure that our project will succeed once it’s on the ISS and out of our hands.
S: We’re also in the beginning stages of outreach. We’re developing a curriculum for … presentations that we’ll be [bringing to] schools starting in September, and we’re reaching out to schools now.
What do you expect will be the biggest challenge?
R: Figuring out how to get these bacteria back from space and keep them safe while we work through them on Earth.
What are you doing for the community engagement element?
S: We’ll visit schools, K through 12, and do an interactive presentation where students will learn about bacteria, antibiotic resistance and our experiment in space. There will also be a … competition [for] middle schoolers; they’ll assemble in teams … and submit proposals to us to select the location for [collecting] the soil that will go into space. … We’ll pick the winner, and [those students] will get to come with us to collect the soil and … come to our lab to do microbiology experiments on the soil sample with us. … After our experiment is over, the curriculum we’re developing will still be available [to schools], and [students] will be able to use it to meet their common core science standards.
What are you most excited about?
S: Involving the students and seeing them get excited about STEM.
R: Learning how to lead a team while developing science, and then teaching that science to my team.
Follow NoMADS Visit nomads-teamcooke.com or email nomads.teamcooke@unh.edu. The NoMADS team will be documenting its progress on social media (@unhm.spocs on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and @unhm_spocs on Twitter).
Featured photo: The UNH Manchester NoMADS team. Left to right: Irma Vrevic, Ben Beane, Sydney Rollins, Dr. Sue Cooke, Raymond Miller, Nela Klonowski, Dianne Moschitta and Thomas Gerton. Courtesy photo.
